Officials in no rush to close Sea Girt Inlet

Nov. 21, 2012

An old inlet unearthed at Spring Lake the day after superstorm Sandy / Staff Photo/Dan Radel

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SPRING LAKE — For now – and maybe for as long as nature intends – the Sea Girt Inlet will remain open.

On Monday, the borough met with representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Monmouth County to discuss the future of the inlet after superstorm Sandy reopened it.

“Our intention is to keep it open,” said borough administrator Bryan Dempsey. “I think everyone is going in that direction.”

It’s too early to tell though, whether the inlet can realistically be kept open.

According to borough engineer Peter Avakian, the ocean broke through during the storm and effectively created a confluence with a steady stream of water from Wreck Pond and Wreck Pond Brook to the ocean at mid- and high tides.

“The prevailing feeling is it’s going to have tremendous environmental benefits. It was becoming more of a retention pond,” Avakian said, adding that tidal flow from the ocean will help cleanse the pond.

Wreck Pond is part of a greater watershed fed by streams from Old Mill Pond, Osborne Pond, Albert’s Pond and Hurley’s Pond in Wall and Spring Lake Heights. Historically, it emptied into the Atlantic Ocean by way of a natural inlet identified as the Sea Girt Inlet on old Army Corps of Engineers maps.

A bulkhead once was placed on the south side of the inlet to stop erosion; however, the Army Corps of Engineers closed it off and installed the existing outfall pipe that controls tidal flow.

The DEP said the pond once flourished from recreational activities, but over several decades they became limited because of water pollution from stormwater runoff and filling in of the lake from sediment.

When it rained, this water flowed to the nearby Spring Lake and Sea Girt beaches through the outfall pipe, causing beach closings.

Dempsey said officials will do a study to see if the inlet can be stabilized. Meanwhile, Avakian said the borough would like to continue with plans to have Wreck Pond dredged.